10 Deadly Martial Arts

Martial arts or fighting arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of Combat. Martial arts all have a very similar objective: defend oneself or others from physical threat. While each style has unique facets that differentiate it from other martial arts, a common characteristic is the systematization of fighting techniques.

1 ) Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. Taekwondo was the world’s most popular martial art in terms of the number of practitioners, in 1989. Its popularity has resulted in the varied development of the martial art into several domains: as with many other arts, it combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, meditation, and philosophy. Taekwondo is famous for its high impact kicks, with rationale being kicks having a much longer reach than punching and if executed swiftly, is considered the strongest weapon for a martial artist.

2 ) Karate

Karate is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands (karate chop). Grappling, locks, restraints, throws, and vital point strikes are taught in some styles. Made famous by the film The Karate Kid  starring Pat Morita as a karate master, karate is highly deadly martial art technique with current MMA world champions practicing karate as their main striking ability.

3 ) Sambo

Sambo, in the USA also called Sombo, is an acronym for SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya which means “self-defense without weapons”, in Russia, is a martial art and combat sport. A special technique of Sambo called Combat Sambo is extensively used by military and Special Forces worldwide to neutralize enemies in a close combat situation. With its strong grappling techniques, Sambo practitioners can takedown opponents and maim a part of their body with a lock in a matter of mere seconds.

4 ) Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a hard martial art from Thailand. Muay Thai is referred to as the “Art of Eight Limbs” or the “Science Of Eight Limbs” because it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight “points of contact”, as opposed to “two points” (fists) in Western boxing and “four points” (hands and feet) used in sport-oriented martial arts. Muay Thai along with savate, karate, and taekwondo heavily influenced the development of kickboxing in Japan, Europe, and North America. Kickboxing in particular is considered by many practitioners to be a modified form of Muay Thai.

5 ) Krav Maga

Krav Maga is an eclectic hand-to-hand combat system developed in Israel which involves wrestling, grappling  and striking techniques, mostly known for its extremely efficient and brutal counter-attacks, as it is also taught to elite special forces around the world. All Israel Defense Forces soldiers, including all Israeli Special Forces units, learn Krav Maga as part of their basic training, although most non-Special Forces trainees only spend a small amount of time training in Krav Maga, up to a week of training for a few hours per day. There are numerous organizations around the world teaching Krav Maga or variants. Since the death of its founder, differences have arisen, with competing claims to heirship. Some organizations and individuals claim to be the sole heir while others contend it is an “open” art which should not be owned by any person or group.

6 ) Wing Chun

Wing Chun is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense utilizing both striking and grappling while specializing in close-range combat. Wing Chun practitioners believe that the person with better body structure will win. A correct Wing Chun stance is like a piece of bamboo, firm but flexible, rooted but yielding. This structure is used to either deflect external forces or redirect them.  Balance is related to structure because a well-balanced body recovers quicker from stalled attacks and structure is maintained. Wing Chun trains the awareness of one’s own body movement derived from muscular, tendon, and articular sources.

7 ) Capoeira

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, music, and dance. It was created in Brazil by slaves from Africa, sometime after the sixteenth century. The sparring is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints, takedowns, and with extensive use of leg sweeps, kicks, and headbutts. Less frequently used techniques include elbow strikes, slaps, punches, and body throws. Capoeira is a form of martial art that is considered one of the hardest to counter since its moves are unorthodox yet very lethal. By implementing quick kicks and flowing punches, Capoeira is definitely one of the more unique martial arts globally.

8 ) Ninjutsu

Ninjutsu  is the martial art, strategy, and tactics of unconventional warfare and guerrilla warfare as well as the art of espionage purportedly practiced by the shinobi (Ninja). Ninjitsu is considered one of the most unconventional martial arts techniques around the world today. Ninjitsu practitioners in ancient Japan were assassins and spies; hence their methods were based on stealth and taking out an opponent when he does not see it coming. Ninjitsu practitioners are taught various skills and weaponry and are considered guerilla masters of the samurai sword.

9 ) Silat

Silat is a collective word for indigenous martial arts of the Malay Archipelago and Malay Peninsula of Southeast Asia.  There are hundreds of different styles but they tend to focus either on strikes, joint manipulation, bladed weapons, throws, animal-based techniques, or some combination thereof. Silat practitioners begin and end each routine and practice session by saluting their teacher, partner or any spectators as a show of respect. The handsign used is dependent on style and lineage. Along with the human body, silat employs a wide variety of weapons. Prior to the introduction of firearms, weapons training was actually considered to be of greater value than unarmed techniques and even today many masters consider a student’s training incomplete if they have not learned the use of weapons. Except for some weapon-based styles, students must generally achieve a certain degree of skill before being presented with a weapon which is traditionally made by the guru (Master).

10 ) Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport and martial art in which two people fight using their fists. Boxing is typically supervised by a referee engaged in during a series of one- to three-minute intervals called rounds, and boxers generally of similar weight. Boxing is strictly striking using gloved fists, with different stances and different methods of strikes involved. A strong knockout boxer, like world famous Muhammad Ali, famous for the catchphrase “Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee” could knock down an opponent and knock their lights out unconscious with a single punch.